Free Brides of Texas by Cathy Marie Hake Page B

such an odd thing
?
    “Though I canna see the Almighty, I still know He’s with me because of how He resonates in my heart.”
    I used to feel that way. Now I don’t. God hasn’t listened to me or talked to my heart for months now
. She glanced at the doctor, and he gave her a quizzical look. Embarrassed at her thoughts, she stammered, “It is odd, you speaking of fish and God in the same discussion.”
    His eyes twinkled. “Ooch! Now, lass, many a man will tell you ’tis no place like sittin’ by a stream with a pole in your hand to let your heart go still. ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’ Aye, I’m thinkin’ that verse applies to the hours when I fish.”
    Eager to veer away from discussing spiritual matters, she pretended to play with a clothespin. “So then, go talk to Grossvater in the cornfield. Maybe he could take you fishing sometime.”
    “That I will.”
    As the doctor walked off, Mercy hung the last of the laundry and went to the garden. She picked some vegetables and took them inside. The doctor had said he stayed busy when his heart ached. Mercy envied him.
No matter how hard I work, nothing fills up the emptiness inside me—nothing but that evil man’s child
.

Chapter 9
    N o being surly,” Rob warned Chris as they rode to the Stein farm.
    “Of course he willna be surly.” Duncan thumbed back his hat. “ ’Tis Peter’s birthday, and Chris wouldna think to spoil it with a dark mood.”
    “I’m not surly.” Chris shifted the box on his lap. “I’m impatient.”
    Duncan looked at Rob. “Peter’s growin’ a year older today, and I’m thinking Chris is going backward in age.”
    “You chose more fireworks than I did.” Chris gave Duncan a mock scowl. “But if you think they’re just a schoolboy’s toy, I’m sure Mercy would let you stay in the kitchen and wash dishes while the rest of us enjoy the lights—don’t you think, Rob?”
    “We’ll not light a single one till everyone can enjoy them.”
    Chris smirked. “Duncan, you’re my witness. Rob just volunteered to do dishes.”
    “Aye, that he did!”
    Rob chuckled. “Since when did I mind getting my hands wet? Washing dishes is a far sight easier than sterilizing my instruments.”
    Duncan moaned.
    “Keep talking about that.” Chris grinned at Rob. “Duncan goes green whene’er he even hears about blood and gore. It means there’ll be more food for us.”
    As they approached the farmhouse, Peter ran out to greet them. “We get to have a picnic! Grossvater said we could!”
    As they hitched their horses, Peter hopped from one foot to the other. “You got three horses now?”
    “Aye, we do.” Chris gave his gelding an affectionate pat.
    “Was yours sick, too?”
    “Nae. Just bad-tempered. His owner didn’t know how to treat him.”
    “There’s not a beast alive Chris couldn’t charm,” Duncan boasted.
    Mercy came out onto the veranda. “Except a skunk.”
    Rob chortled. “Aye, and that’s the truth. Chris, will you be telling the lass, or do I?”
    Mercy’s eyes widened. “The skunk didn’t—”
    “No,” Chris snapped. He heaved a sigh. “You were right. The skunk was in that log. While she went to our porch for the eggs, I chopped up the log so she’d move on.”
    “And she took every last one of her kits with her,” Duncan added.
    Rob gave Mercy a slow smile. “So mayhap you ought to be reminding Chris what gingerbread is to go on the new house.”
    “I’ll remind him later.” Mercy pushed a golden strand of hair behind her ear. “I wouldn’t want to spoil his appetite.”
    “Mercy made a cake for me. Wanna come see?”
    “Later, Peter.” Mercy made a shooing motion. “Go take the blanket and spread it out. Don’t lay it by the redbud tree. There’s an anthill there.”
    “And after I do, I getta choose a watermelon.”
    “Now, I think I’m going to have to set this box down and help you with that chore. We’ll find the biggest watermelon in the garden.”
    Peter went up